@ladygrumplebottom
Earth
I used to enjoy drawing in high school and I quit over 10 years. Trying to start back from the basics again.
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@ladygrumplebottom
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9mo
added comment inCritique - Simplify to CSI
I tried a few with some new reference images. I realized that although my pre-demonstration submissions "look" better, they didn't really stay true to the nature of the exercise, which was to practice more confident lines and focus on the C-S-I lines. I didn't focus as much on getting the proportions right. Any critiques on the linework and the C-S-I method?
@ladygrumplebottom
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9mo
Asked for help
Okay, here's most of my pieces (I did a few more on top of this, but these are the big milestone ones. This includes my pre and immediate post-demonstration pears on 12-30-23. The apple and the final pear are after watching the critique videos. Is there anything I can still improve on? Additionally, how do you know when you are ready to move onto the next lesson? I did do the portraits, but I think I'm going to stick with the level 1 projects until I get through most of the course, then I might go back and attempt the level 2.
Evan LeBlanc
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9mo
Asked for help
Very first attempt. Relatively proud. Please give me some critiques. I need them to improve. Thank you!
You did a really great job simplifying the shapes. This is something I personally struggle with greatly, so nice job. The two biggest things that stand out to me are that your 2nd shadow tone and your darker mid-tone look two close together, so it looks like you only have 4 values instead of 5. The other thing is that it looks like you rushed on your shading... were you shading using the side of your pencil? I can see the difference in the strokes you used in your pear versus the lines you made on the top of your page. You want to use those instead.
Ethan Lee
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9mo
Asked for help
First attempt. Would love critiques. If there's anyone starting this class in 2024, I'd be open to joining a study group. 💪🎨
I just started the class this year as well too. I think this is a great first attempt. I think the proportions of the pear look a little off compared to the reference photo. The top of the pear is narrower than the bottom. As for the values, I'd say some of your values are a little too close together. It almost looks like you only have 3 values here instead of 5. I'd darken up your cast shadow, making it almost solid black. That will make it a lot easier to play with your other 4 values. The front plane of the pear around your highlights should be lighter than the shading on the side of the pear. They look a little too similar and because your highlights are really small, they're hard to see. But other than that, you did a really good job simplifying your shapes and keeping your edges straight. That's a challenge in and of itself.
You did a really good job with this! I think maybe the only thing is that I would make your 2nd tone around the cast shadow match your second darkest value, but other than that, it looks really good!
This is a good first attempt. I think the biggest things that stands out to me is that it looks like you only have 4 values instead of 5. If you look at your highlights, they're the same value as what should be the lightest mid-tone. The entire area around your highlights should be darker than your highlight. You'd likely need to darken up your other values to make room for that.
@ladygrumplebottom
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9mo
Asked for help
I had a really hard time with this. I think I got too focused on the details rather than breaking things down into even simpler shapes. I got both of these done in a total of 2.5 hours using Clip Studio Paint and a textured pen brush I downloaded. I did go back and clean up my lines using vectors... don't know if that's considered cheating?
I started with the boots first which I think was a bit harder to do first... I must confess, I could not get myself to do the snail because I absolutely despise snails. I didn't think I would find the assignment very enjoyable if I had to look at a snail for an extended period of time... so I found a reference photo of a cute frog to use instead. However, I think even with the frog and its simpler shapes, I didn't simplify enough. I got too distracted by the individual toes rather than the more basic shape. I also think I got some of the proportions wrong, again because I was focusing on smaller parts rather than the whole? Thoughts?
@ladygrumplebottom
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9mo
Asked for help
I made an attempt digitally at the Level 2 project using Clip Studio Paint. The right most drawing was my pre-demo attempt. The next was post-demo. The Mads Mikkelsen portrait was attempted following watching the critique videos. Squinting definitely helps but I still need to work on proportions. It's slowly getting a little bit easier to see the differences in values as I keep practicing.
Thank you. That's great advice. I really need to slow down and be patient. When I watch other experienced artist draw, they make it seem so easy and quick. I thought I have to go at the same pace....I forget that they've already had many years of practice. I have to find my own pace and be very mindful of what I put down.
May I ask how long it took you to do the third drawing on top right? Your lines are so very straight and the pressure so consistent. I wish I could make my lines straight and consistent. My lines and shades tends to be messy. I don't know if I'm impatient or just uncoordinated.
@ladygrumplebottom
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10mo
Here's my first attempt pre and post demonstration. I think the area I'm struggling with the most is seeing the subtle differences in the mid-tones and highlights. I also think I darkened one of the mid-tones a little too much so it blends in with some of the shadows. This was done digitally in Clip Studio Paint with the standard pencil tool.
